It has long been an objective in education to automate the handwritten pen and paper-and-pencil testing process and to develop a computer-based diagnostic and prescriptive student assessment system for use in tutoring and supplemental education franchises, corporate education and school-based learning centers. Educational testing organizations have strived to allow teachers and learning center personnel to administer a complete and accurate student assessment test battery using computers. In addition, once students have been assessed, it would be advantageous to automatically develop individualized student workbooks suited for each particular student, and then automate the assembly and delivery of instructional material required by the individual student.
Currently, when a student enrolls in tutorial or supplemental educational programs, he or she completes a series of primarily paper-and-pencil diagnostic tests to identify subject-specific skill gaps. Once these tests are corrected and analyzed against a given curriculum of subject-specific learning objectives, a teacher or supervisor outlines a personalized program of instruction through which the student will master the subject.
It is an object of the present invention to automate the testing process. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a computer system for administering a complete diagnostic test battery, including, as appropriate, vision and other tests. It is a further object to gather information suitable for assisting in the diagnosis, prescription, and instruction of students, and to maintain appropriate records of the process.
Once a student has completed a test battery, it is an object of the present invention to diagnose and analyze the test results to identify the student""s skill gaps and produce a useful student profile. It is a further object of the present invention to generate a personalized study plan and prescription which can then be followed and tracked using an automated delivery system for instructional materials. In short, it is also an object of the present invention to generate more useful diagnostic, prescriptive, instructional and marketing information than the current battery of mostly paper-and-pencil tests presently provide.
It is yet another object of the present invention to develop a new automated assessment system to replace the mostly paper-and-pencil test battery presently administered in tutorial learning centers. Lastly, still further objects of the present invention are to enhance assessment, improve effectiveness, streamline test administration and use, increase profitability of tutorial learning centers utilizing the system of the invention, reduce administration and scoring costs, eliminate duplicate data entry between applications, support new educational product development, improve instruction, upgrade process efficiency, increase student length-of-stay, enhance quality control, and improve data collection.
In accordance with the above objects, the present invention provides a method of automated delivery of instructional material. The method comprises, in one embodiment, steps (a)-(e). Step (a) is generating student profile data including skill gaps. Step (b) is generating an electronic student workbook containing instructional material correlated to the student profile data. Step (c) is displaying the electronic workbook on a student workstation. Step (d) is collecting student input data input at the student workstation in response to instructional materials. Finally, step (e) is updating the student profile data in response to the student input data.
Preferably, step (b) of generating an electronic student workbook further comprises steps (b1)-(b3). Step (b1) is generating an electronic teacher workbook containing a set of instructional materials correlated to the student profile. Step (b2) is displaying the teacher workbook on a teacher workstation. Lastly, step (b3) is generating the student workbook from a subset of said instructional materials selected by input into the teacher workstation.
In another preferred embodiment, step (e) further comprises the steps of: collecting student input data from the student workstation to the teachers workbook, and collecting teacher input data input into the teacher workstation. The student profile data is then preferably updated in response to student input data and teacher input data.
In another embodiment, the method further comprises the step of collecting instructional material data corresponding to instructional materials sent to a student, and calculating charges based on the instructional material data. Such charges can be either student charges, or charges to the centers using the system for the use of copyrighted or proprietary instructional materials.
Step (a) of generating student profile data comprises administering a test to the student for identifying a discrete set of skill gaps, wherein the profile comprises the discrete set of skill gaps.
Step (e) of updating the student profile data, preferably comprises adding and subtracting skill gaps.
The method of the invention is preferably carried out so that the step (e) of updating the student profile data is followed by steps (b), (c), (d) and (e) to form a feedback loop containing steps (b), (c), (d) and (e).
The teacher workbook preferably has an application for taking notes, and an application for generating statistics in response to the student input data.
In a still further embodiment, step (b1) of generating an electronic teacher workbook further includes the additional steps of (b11), (b12), and (b13). Step (b11) is generating an electronic director workbook containing a set of instructional materials correlated to the student profile. Step (b12) is displaying the director workbook on a director workstation, and step (b13) is generating the teacher workbook from a subset of said instructional materials selected by input into the director workstation. In this embodiment, step (e) preferably further includes the steps of: collecting student input data from the student workbook to the teachers workbook, collecting teacher input data input into the teacher workstation, and collecting director input data into the director workstation. The student profile data is then updated in response to student input data, teacher input data, and director input data.
Also in accordance with the present invention, the present invention provides a system for electronic instructional delivery. The system has a central data base containing student profile data and instructional materials. A central processor is connected to the central database for generating electronic teacher workbooks from the student profile data and instructional materials. A teacher workstation is connected to the central processor. The teacher workstation includes a display for displaying teacher workbooks generated by the central processor, an input device for inputing teacher input data generated in response to the teacher workbooks, and a processor for generating electronic student workbooks comprising instructional materials in response to the teacher input and student profile data. A student workstation is connected to the teacher workstation. The student workstation includes a display for displaying student workbooks, an input device for inputing student input data generated in response to instructional materials in the student workbook, and means for forwarding input data to the central processor to update the student profile data. In this preferred embodiment of the system, the student profile data preferably comprises skill gaps.
Another embodiment of the system according to the present invention has a director workstation connected to the central processor. The director workstation, includes a display for displaying director workbooks generated by the central processor, an input device for inputing director input data generated in response to the director workbooks, and a processor for generating electronic teacher workbooks comprising instructional materials in response to the director input and the student profile data.
In a yet further embodiment of the system of the present invention, the director, teacher and student workstations are merely displays and input devices and all processing is done by the central processor.
The system of the present invention preferably has a single teacher workstation and a plurality of student workstations at a single location on a U-shaped table.